


Incaendium

by Rynnsama



Category: Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Blood and Violence, F/M, Gen, M/M, Some profanity, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynnsama/pseuds/Rynnsama
Summary: Disturbed by visions of the death of a boy his age, Bobby turns to his circle for help to protect the new boy at school. As time wears on, the visions become more intense. Can a circle of teenage witches along with their mentor hope to protect the boy from an untimely death.





	1. Bobby

**Author's Note:**

> I need to say a huge thank you to @get-him-a-body-bag on Tumblr because without her, this fic would never have happened. Thank you for your support, for indulging me and my ideas for the AU as well as being an amazing editor that I couldn't function without.
> 
> I also want to acknowledge that I know this first "chapter" is very short. They all will be. But the hope is to have regular updates so hopefully it'll still be all good.
> 
> Obviously I have been influenced by a lot of different sources. I've read and watched so many magic/witch story lines thought my life that I can't name them all. I will say though that a huge influence was the "Secret Circle" trilogy by L.J. Smith, I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a teenager.

With a gasp he suddenly found himself sitting bolt upright in bed; his heart racing and body drenched in a cold sweat.

Ever since he had begun honing his craft the dreams that went along with it had grown more vivid as well. For the most part his visions showed him people he already knew and were usually mundane and of little or no consequence; like a friend getting a passing mark on a test, that sort of thing. What he saw always had the same sort of feel to them, and in time he became quite adept at telling the difference between fanciful dreams and veritable glimpses into the future.

Bobby wished he could have brushed this off as nothing more than another nightmare, but every cell in his body knew that this was the very real future of some unfortunate soul.

He swallowed hard as he placed his head in his hands, trying to process all of the details he had just bore witness to.

There had been blood, so much blood. Just thinking about it made him feel sick. This other boy was destined for an untimely end, and a gruesomely painful one at that.

From what he could piece together there had been an argument, fighting going on between the blonde teen and another; however the second individual’s identity was never revealed.

The faceless man wanted something blonde boy was unwilling to give and it didn’t take long for the confrontation to become violent.

The other boy was like him, from a family of magik.

Bobby had felt it once the boy called upon that power within him, his aura an intense inferno. Fire overtook the ocean blue of the blonde’s eyes as he tried to scream out an incantation only to be silenced by the twist of a dagger forced deep into his gut.

He had also felt when the blade tore into the boy’s stomach, that same boy then beginning to sputter and cough as blood bubbled past his lips and his swaying body reeled backwards.

Desperately trying to hold himself together, the boy suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Blood poured out from everywhere and Bobby had not only watched but also felt as the brilliant flames in the stranger’s eyes were abruptly extinguished, his young body becoming limp and lifeless and looming just over him was the faceless figure, now laughing as he robbed the boy of his precious magik and fully absorbed it into himself.

It was immediately after that Bobby awoke. He glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand: 3am. He knew it was still way too early to start the day, but it would be impossible getting back to sleep after all… that. The visions still lingered, haunting him every time he closed his tired eyes.

Bobby slowly looked down at his hands and although they appeared clean he still couldn’t quite shake the sickening thought that they were still soiled by all of that blood.    

For the first time in his life he felt like he now understood how Lady Macbeth must have felt when she tried to cleanse her own tainted hands.

Unfortunately for him, it was more than just a damn spot he had to worry about, that was for sure.

Forcing himself out of bed Bobby then made his way to the bathroom and cranked the shower dial towards warm. Thick clouds of steam quickly filled the space as hot water began to rain down.

The teen stripped out of his clothes and once finished ducked quickly beneath the steaming hot downpour before then grabbing a washcloth and beginning to scrub at his tanned flesh in an attempt to cleanse it of any imaginary stains.

To be perfectly honest, what Bobby really wanted to be rid of were the things his eyes seemed incapable of unseeing. But as far as he was aware there was no soap on the market that specialized in ridding a person of dry skin and horrible visions of the future.

The only solace he managed to find in the whole experience was that he had absolutely no idea who on earth this mystery boy was. He had to figure and reassure himself that even if this boy, whoever he was, DID meet some sort of unfortunate end.. well, it was certainly nobody Bobby had to worry about.


	2. Johnny

Slamming the door of his Pontiac Firebird Johnny looked up at the picturesque little bungalow in front of him. The Californian heat was suffocating, nothing like the fresh mountain air of Montana. It was hard to believe that his mom actually had grown up in a place like this when she had always been far too much of a free spirit to be trapped in this suburban hell.

And now it was **_his_** hell.

“Johnny!”

Looking up he saw a middle aged looking man walking towards him from the house. Taking a wild guess he figured this stranger had to be the godfather he had come all this way to meet. 

“John Kreese, right?” Johnny asked, dropping his bags onto the driveway.

The older man nodded, hand outstretched. “Glad you could make it. I hope the drive down wasn’t too bad.”

Johnny shrugged. He and his mother used to go on plenty of road trips together, his mother being the one to take the wheel in the beginning up until he got his license and the burden became a shared one between them. He actually enjoyed driving but lately he found it was less pleasurable now given the absence of her presence.

“Yeah, it was fine.”

“Good, good. And you found the place alright?”

Johnny held up his phone, “GPS. There was no way I could get lost.”

Kreese chuckled with a nod, “Ah, That’s right, I keep forgetting about all this fancy new technology all you kids have nowadays.” With a grin he motioned towards the house. “Well, Come on in, let’s get you settled.”

Johnny grabbed his bags while Kreese attempted to make a grab for one.

“I’m fine.” He stated, giving the man a look.

Johnny wasn’t buying any of the bull this guy was selling.

After all, where the hell had this John Kreese been his whole life? And furthermore, why had his mother failed to mention him?

Well, to be fair, it wasn’t like his mom was exactly an open book when it came to her time spent living in California.

In fact, he knew next to nothing involving her youth. Just like he knew nothing of who his father was and whether or not he had other living relations. According to his mother’s will, there apparently were no other family members, just some shady godfather who was to be his designated guardian until Johnny reached the legal age of adulthood.

This whole business of the will had been fishy from the start.

Everything to do with his mother’s death just didn’t sit quite right with Johnny. The accident had happened in broad daylight, for one, no reports of rain or anything else that would have made the road conditions treacherous. The highway had also been rather empty that day, for another and from what scarce details he could recall they had probably only passed about a handful of cars in the entirety of their trip.

The rest was hazy, the events following seemed to happen within the blink of an eye. Suddenly their car was swerving left and right, spinning out of control, the next thing he knew the bridge loomed into view and they were unable to avoid making impact with the steel supports. What followed remained a blur shrouded in muffled screams and shades of red.

Johnny was told that his mother had died on impact. Having only suffered a few minor injuries himself he was renowned as some kind of miracle. All the paramedics involved said there was no way he should have lived through the crash.

A small part of him still wished he hadn’t.

Johnny wished he could recall more details of that tragic day. He had been right there for fuck’s sake! He should have known what had caused them to veer off the road, but he just… couldn’t. He could however recall the doctor at the hospital telling him that amnesia after a traumatic experience as well as a head injury was common.

No one had known what to do with him afterwards. They couldn’t find any one to take him in so the hospital had kept him under surveillance for the time being while the police figured out where exactly to place the boy.

He had nearly ended up being a ward of the state when the lawyer showed up. It was some hotshot from California, tacky suit and everything, who just so happened to have the last will and testament of Laura Lawrence which outlined what was to be done with her son in the event of her death.

In a small way, it did kind of make sense. Johnny shared a name in common with his godfather, and hell, could have possibly even been named AFTER him.

But then why did his mother never tell him that such a person even existed? Of course, she had never talked about his father either. He always had a feeling that she had gone through some sort of trauma at her home in California which would explain why she had suddenly packed up her son and left for good, never looking back.

“So… we going inside?” Johnny finally asked, eyebrow raised.

“Sure, just want to be sure you got everything.”

Johnny gave a small shrug, “We didn’t have a lot but we had enough. I have a couple of boxes that should be showing up in a few days but, yeah, this is all I got.”

His godfather didn’t press further and proceeded to lead the way inside, Johnny taking in all of the sights as they made their way through the house. Kreese gave him the quickie tour, starting with the living room and kitchen before ending with his bedroom.

“I know it’s not much but I figure once you get settled, you can decorate it any way that you like.”

It was sparse, really just a bed and a desk. Johnny didn’t mind though, he was used to living a meager life. This house already was three times the size of the apartment that he and his mother had shared back in Billings, though they spent almost as much time in the Volkswagon Microbus during their travels.

His mother had home schooled him so throughout his childhood the country’s nature had been his classroom. Laura knew he was always embarrassed by the beat up old bus which was why she had scrimped and saved up the money to buy her son the firebird. It was old and had more than its fair share of problems, but to him it couldn’t be more perfect.

“It’s great.” Johnny quietly said as he placed his bags on the floor.

“I figured you can take the week to get adjusted, let you get to know your surroundings a little and then you can start at the school next week.”

“Why wait?” Johnny countered. “Isn’t school and some routine going to help me adjust?”

Kreese studied him before speaking again. “I understand your mother home schooled you. High school is a different kind of culture. Are you really sure you want to start right away? You can take your time.”

Johnny felt his jaw tighten. True, he didn’t have the faintest idea about a normal high school life, but he did know that sitting around with nothing to do was going to drive him mad. He needed a distraction, something to keep him from fixating on his mother being gone forever.

“I’d rather start now if it’s all the same to you.”

Kreese held up his hands in surrender, “Very well, tomorrow morning it is. Now, how about I go see about our dinner for tonight.”  

Johnny had already begun to tune the man out as he walked back towards the kitchen. Finally, alone once again he opened up one of his bags and pulled out a framed picture of his mother which he then carefully placed up on the desk. “Well, Mom, I guess this is it.”


	3. Tommy

Brown eyes watched with growing curiosity as the red firebird pull into the school parking lot. The car definitely stood out in the sea of what parents deemed to be “sensible” teenage cars. It had to be the new kid, a logical assumption given that Tommy had never seen that car before in his life. He continued to quietly observe the blonde as he emerged from the vehicle. The guy didn’t look anything like Tommy had imagined. To be perfectly honest, Tommy had hoped the new kid would be rather unfortunate looking. Dating was hard enough when your best friends were some of the most sought after guys in the entire school. And now It looked like Tommy was about to have even more competition. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“Hey Bobby, check it out.” He swiftly nudged the brunette beside him.

As Bobby turned, Tommy watched as the colour slowly drained from his friend’s face. He had only ever seen something like that once before with his twin sister, seconds before she had fainted in biology class.

“Hey, you doing okay Bobby?” A part of him wondered if he was going to have to catch the other should he pass out.

Bobby opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as the bleach blonde leader of their clique swung his arms around both of their shoulders.

“Mornin’, losers!” Dutch offered a laugh before taking in the sight of Bobby. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” Bobby replied. “I just didn’t sleep well last night. I’m tired.”

There might have been some truth to the statement but as Tommy continued to eye his friend he knew there was more to it.

“Well, you look like shit.” Dutch uttered bluntly before turning his attention towards Tommy. “Where’s Barb at? I was thinking a BJ before first period would be a good way to start my day.” He gave a smirk.

Tommy felt his blood begin to boil. It was one thing and bad enough to have Dutch dating his twin sister, but something else entirely to have to listen to him talk about her in such a vulgar way.

“I know you’re just saying shit to get at me, asshole, and it’s working. Go find her yourself. She’s probably with Ali and Susan. Just text her.”

“Oh, you wish I was just talking shit…” Dutch scoffed as he pulled out his phone.

Tommy turned his attention back to Bobby who still looked just as out of it.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. You look like you’re about to pass out. We’ll deal with the new kid later.”

Dutch quickly glanced up from his phone. “The new kid’s here already? I thought he started next week.”

“Well, looks like the new kid didn’t get the memo. Take a right, check it out.” Tommy nodded at the blonde who was now making his way into the school building.

“You know what?” Bobby suddenly spoke up as he began gathering his books into his bag.

“Going inside sounds like a great idea. I’ll see you in fourth.”

Tommy and Dutch watched as their friend hurried after the blonde.

“God, I swear, the more Bobby expands his power the fucking weirder he gets…” Dutch’s phone chimed and he looked back down, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Looks like I gotta’ run too!”

“Dutch, wait!”

He turned to face Tommy, a look of annoyance written across his face.

“What do we do about the new kid?” The smaller boy huffed.

“Watch him for now. Don’t engage unless absolutely necessary. I’m still not convinced he’s one of us yet.”

“Yeah, but why would _he_ lie to us?” Tommy continued, frowning.

Dutch shrugged. “He’s too close to it. Maybe his judgement is clouded. Look, I want proof before we throw out the welcome mat.”

“Yeah, okay.” Tommy replied though he was sure it had fallen on deaf ears as Dutch had already begun to walk away.


	4. Bobby

Bobby hurried out to the abandoned house that sat on the outskirts of town. He had texted their teacher immediately after seeing the blonde. He still didn’t dare tell the others about the dream, not until he had more answers and a better understanding of it, anyways.

Besides, it really wasn’t any of their business. But their teacher on the other hand? That was different.

Bobby had learned that these visions were only the prediction of what **could** happen. It was always possible to change the outcome if you could deviate from the path at just the right moment and as far as he was concerned he desperately needed to alter the path for this boy. No one deserved the kind of future he had witnessed.

Making his way into the derelict building he felt relief as he saw the older man standing in wait.

“Kreese, thank god you’re here.”

“What is it this time, Bobby?” Kreese asked, exhaling a heavy cloud of smoke from his cigar. “I don’t have much time to waste.”

“The new kid showed up at school today.”

Kreese sighed, “Yes, I am well aware that Johnny attended school today. He is my godson and under my care now after all. Is this all you had to tell me?”

“No, it’s just when I saw the new kid, I mean, Johnny, at school I realized that it wasn’t the first time I had seen him.”

Immediately Kreese seemed far more interested in the conversation than he had before.

“Does that mean you’ve had a vision?”

Bobby nodded. “But it wasn’t like any I’ve ever had before. I… I saw him die.”

Kreese made his way to the old couch and settled down onto it. “Tell me everything, spare no detail.”

Taking a deep breath the teen sat down and began to explain everything as explicitly as he could. He went on about how he had felt all of the anguish that he had seen Johnny go through and as he finished, he watched his teacher earnestly for any kind of answer.

Kreese was silent for a while, taking in all the information he had just been given with a deep and contemplative expression.

“Does any of this make sense to you?” Bobby implored the other.

Kreese finally nodded.

“I thought since most of the families had either left or stopped practicing that we would be off the grid, but I guess with so many young witches learning their trade we seem to have been placed back on the map. You see Bobby, the magik you have in you does not cease to exist when you die. Sometimes it’s passed to family members in a lineage or it goes back into nature and the elements. There are some who practice a dark magik which allows you to channel the magik of another into yourself through a spell but in order to break the tie with the host you have to kill them. From what you have described to me, it sounds like Johnny will be caught in the clutches of one of these scavengers.”

Bobby’s mouth felt dry. “Wait, so if they could go after Johnny that means all of us could potentially be target too?”

Kreese nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid that is the case. We may need to work faster with Johnny. We cannot leave him vulnerable.”

“But, why can’t you just tell him about his heritage?”

He felt Kreese’s arm around his shoulder. “Well, my boy, I’m his guardian. The only one he has in the world as of right now. How could I break news like this to him? Hm? He’ll be confused at first, of course and needs a safe space away from magik. I need you and the boys to handle this Bobby. Please keep an eye on him and report anything that seems off directly to me. Understood?”

Bobby nodded, “Yeah, okay. I’ll do my best, but… Dutch doesn’t want to approach the subject with him at all.”

“Take care of it Bobby.”

The tone in Kreese’s voice sent chills down Bobby’s spine. He was grateful to the man, especially for taking them all under his tutelage and helping them to expand their abilities. At times like this though, he was terrified. He did his best to believe that Kreese really did have the best intentions in mind.

“I… I will.”


	5. Dutch

His brown eyes bore into his fellow teen. Dutch didn’t like having his decisions challenged, especially when it was in front of his subordinates.

“I said we lay off the new kid. I don’t care who he is. We have 6, the proper number for a circle. If he doesn’t know he’s a witch, why even bother with him? We don’t need any competition for power.”

“No Dutch, _you_ don’t want competition for leadership.” Bobby grumbled in response.

“You’re treading on thin ice, Brown. I’d shut the hell up if you know what’s good for you.” Dutch retorted.

“How about we keep the testosterone in check and put it to a vote?” Another voice interjected this one entirely more pleasant.

Dutch glared at the blonde in the corner who was playing on her phone. Most everyone knew their place in the circle. Tommy understood his place was below him. Bobby usually didn’t care for being in authority so his being so adamant about the boy had caught him off guard. Barbara would do just about anything he asked of her and Jimmy? Well Jimmy was happy to be included. Ali was the wild card of the group and his only real challenge to leadership.

“And just what do you suggest we vote on?” he snarled.

Ali stood up, her phone pocketed and she looked around.

“All of those in favor of approaching Johnny, aka _the new kid_ , raise your hand.”

Dutch watched as Ali and Bobby both raised their hands. Jimmy timidly raised his next and that wasn’t a fucking surprise. Little Jimmy would always tend to side with Bobby.

He could see the twins looking between himself, Bobby and Ali, giving each other forceful looks. Even if their specialty was potions, they had also built quite a telepathic link between one another which was frustrating for everyone around them.

“Looks like we’ve got a draw.” Dutch smirked.

“So what’s the tie breaker then?” Ali challenged.

“Shit Ali! Can’t you just leave well enough alone?”

Bobby stepped in between Dutch and Ali, raising his hands. “If we don’t want to approach him entirely, at least allow me to befriend him? What harm can there be in in that?”

Dutch was seething. “Fine, be friends with him, I don’t fucking care what company you keep when you’re on your own! Bring him to this house though and you pay the consequences.”

“Hey, Wait! Where’s my belladonna!?”

All eyes turned to Jimmy, the culprit of the outburst.

“Who fucking cares?” Dutch barked, “Can’t you see we have bigger things going on than your belladonna bullshit?”

“Don’t listen to him, Jimmy. That conversation was over anyways.” Ali shot a glare in Dutch’s direction before turning her attention towards Jimmy. “Now, where did you have it last?”

Dutch crossed his arms against his chest, rumbling growl followed by a bark causing him to look down.

“Don’t worry. I’m done with her, Cerberus.” He said as he knelt down to scratch behind the ears of his faithful Rottweiler.

Kreese had informed them of the importance of familiars from the very beginning. It was the first real spell he had taught them. Before that it had been a series of tests and trials to find their strengths. The spell was the easy part, it was finding the animal to bond with that had proven tricky. Cerberus had actually found Dutch or so it seemed. Unfortunately his worthless grandparents didn’t allow any pets which meant the dog had to live in the abandoned base house.

However, the Rottweiler wasn’t the only familiar to be left at their meeting place but he envied Bobby and the twins for being able to keep theirs at home with them. Somehow, it seemed Dutch always managed to get the shit end of the stick in life.

Fourteen years ago a horrible tragedy befell their small city, almost as if it had been yanked straight out of a horror movie.

Seven young adults, all in their early 20’s had all mysteriously burned to death in an old, rundown warehouse. Story was it had been a party that had simply gotten out of hand. That’s what they were meant to believe, at least until Kreese finally filled them in on the truth; they’d been murdered, by witch hunters.

Among those deceased were Bobby’s father, Tommy and Barbara’s dad, Ali’s mom as well as both of Dutch’s own parents. Jimmy was the only anomaly since he still had both of his parents and two older brothers along with them. Dutch would never admit it outright, but that was half the reason he disliked the boy.

Turning his attention back on the group Dutch could hear Barbara now bitching out Tommy for taking the belladonna from Jimmy without asking. Barbara was a force to be reckoned with as well, especially in her brother’s case.

“Come on, Cerberus, let’s get out of this shithole.” He said, giving the dog a firm pat on the head. A smile pulled at his lips as the image of summoning something to shut them all up filled his mind.

“If only buddy, if only…” Dutch chuckled wickedly as he knelt down, kissing the dog on the top of its broad and furry head. Upon standing he led the way out of the house and into the surrounding brush. He’d come back for Barbara later, but for now he needed some time with his familiar to clear his mind.


	6. Bobby

Bobby couldn’t help sighing as he flipped lazily through the divination book. Recently he had taken a part time job at one of those trendy little new age crystal shops that seemed to be popping up all over the place as of late. Along with stones the store also had a variety of essential oils and diffusers, salt lamps… pretty much anything that would help _“Improve your quality of life”._ One of his favorite things about the shop hands down had to be the wide selection of tarot decks and books on divination that were kept abundantly stocked.

Sure, the overall feel of the shop often times came off as a little hokey and some of the regulars that frequented the place were a bit of an odd bunch, but that didn’t take away from the fact that some of the stuff collected there was also pretty damn legit and thanks to a generous employee discount Bobby was quite satisfied to see just how much his own personal collection of odds and ends had grown over such a short period of time.

His mother on the other hand hadn’t appeared all that impressed with his choice of after school employment but Bobby didn’t really care and it certainly hadn’t stopped him from submitting an application. As far as he knew, she was still in the dark about him knowing the truth about his bloodline and Bobby intended to keep that it that way for as long as possible.

A soft mewl pulled him from his thoughts and back to reality as he reached over to stroke the ball of fluff perched on the counter beside him. Yet another perk of the job was being able to bring his familiar, Nyx, with him since the pair were mostly inseparable save for when it came to school of course or the occasional rare circumstance.

“I’m not obsessed with him…” Bobby mumbled only to hear Nyx’s reproachful scoff echo within his mind along with the wondering query of why then was he always thinking about him as well as trying to divine the blonde’s path over and over.

Bobby’s cheeks flushed an embarrassing shade of pink as he flashed Nyx a look. Sometimes the telepathic link between human and familiar could be more of a curse than a blessing.

He’d admit Johnny had been on this mind a lot lately; mostly because it had to do with trying to figure out a way to save the boy from his horrific future. Of course there had also been times when his mind had strayed away from the course of pure intentions and hell, who could blame him? It was hard not to be just a little bit distracted by a boy that beautiful.

“No one asked you.” The brunette huffed as he closed and placed the book down on the counter.

Nyx mewed at him once more and Bobby couldn’t help but laugh. Reaching over once more he began to scratch just behind her ears which resulted in a low rumbling little purr just as the doorbell announced the presence of a customer which caused both feline and master to look up in unison.

Bobby felt his breath hitch a moment as he noticed the blonde in question step into the shop. He still wasn’t entirely used to being confronted by the face of the boy he had watched perish hundreds of times in his dream, no matter how pretty a face it was.

The images Nyx began to conjure within his head only caused Bobby’s cheeks to redden further as he hurriedly ushered the cat off the counter top. Nyx responded with a hiss of annoyance before landing on the floor and moving to weave around Johnny’s legs, purring affectionately as she rubbed against him.

“Not supposed to have a cat on the counter I’m guessing?” The blonde asked, clearly amused.

“Uh, yeah, something like that…” Bobby laughed nervously. He knew that Johnny wasn’t privy to Nyx’s thoughts but it was still an awfully embarrassing conundrum to have this happen in the presence of the boy himself.

“I saw you through the window,” Johnny spoke up as he began to poke through the assorted knick-knack’s scattered around the store with delight. “You’re in my chemistry class right?”

“Yeah, I’m Robert, but no one actually calls me that. All my friends call me Bobby.” The brunette said with a smile. It suddenly felt like a weight was being lifted from off his shoulders. First step: a proper introduction; check.

“Johnny Lawrence.”

Bobby scoffed, “Guess that means I can stop calling you the _new kid_ then, huh?”

“Guess so.” Johnny said with a small smile. There was a brief pause as he seemed to be contemplating something, his brows knitting together before he finally spoke again. “So… you don’t actually believe in any of this stuff, do you?”

Bobby’s head tilted, “What do you mean?”

“Y’know this whole Addams Family crap; Witchcraft and the occult? That’s just stuff in movies…”

Bobby instantly burst out laughing.

“Some of our customers would resent you for using the term witchcraft for most of the things we sell. Look, do I believe that smelling a certain oil is going to heal _every_ illness known to man? Not in the slightest. But, could it help a little? Maybe. Does having some crystals hanging around make your life better? Let’s face it, probably not. But if it works for you then who cares, right? Don’t tell me you’ve never played with an Ouija board or tried out tarot cards during a sleep over. Do you really have to **_believe_ ** in magic to enjoy yourself?”

Johnny shrugged. “They really didn’t have any of this junk back where I used to live so hey, what do I know, huh? My mom also used to tell me that magic was total bullshit, that it was all a bunch of lies to get children to behave. Kinda’ like the whole _Santa only brings gifts to good kids_ thing.”

Bobby feigned a look of horror. “You mean Santa’s **_not_** real?”

Johnny just stared at the other boy blankly. “Are you trying to be funny?”

Bobby chuckled at that. “Some people think I am.”

A small silence fell between them as each boy took a moment to assess the other. It was Johnny who ended up breaking up the awkward moment though there was a definite note of disappointment in his tone as he glanced from Bobby towards the entrance of the store.

“Well, I better get going. The rest of my boxes finally arrived which means I should probably finish unpacking and stuff. I just wanted to say Hi, really. It kind of sucks not having any friends around here.”

“Until now,” Bobby smiled warmly before pulling out his phone, “What’s your number?”

As the two of them exchanged contact information Bobby couldn’t help but notice how one of the crystals on display seemed to be reacting rather strongly towards Johnny. He studied the ruddy red colored stone briefly before returning his attention towards the blonde. _Sunstone,_ Bobby noted, _the energy of Ra…_ and picked it up, the intense aura radiating off of it immediately warming his palm _._

“Here, on the house.” Bobby tossed the rock over to Johnny. “Consider it a welcome to town gift. I mean unless you’re afraid it might be cursed.” He said with an accompanying wink.

With a slow blink Johnny caught the stone midair and Bobby closely observed the way the blonde examined it before tucking it safely away into his jacket pocket.

“I’ll take my chances.” Johnny replied, clearly touched by the gift.

“Thanks, Bobby. Maybe next time we can be lab partners. I’ve never had labs like this before so I could use all the help I can get.”

“Yeah, man. You got it.” Bobby replied as he saw the other boy off with a wave.

As the door closed behind Johnny Nyx quickly jumped back up onto the counter beside Bobby and began rubbing against his master’s arm.

“Yeah, Nyx, I get that he’s special. I just can’t figure out why…”


End file.
